Railway crossing



P.SPEER Feb. 27, 1968 RAILWAY CROSSING Filed Oct. 22, 1965 z 6 H w 3 M0/) & Wk 4f 2 n m 2 Z 2, 5; m n M g PA UL SPEER BY c ATTORN UnitedStates Patent 3,370,792 RAILWAY CROSSING Paul Speer, Dallas, Tex.,assignor to Speer Filler Strip Company, a corporation of Illinois FiledOct. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 502,042 Claims. (Cl. 2389) ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A railway crossing structure in which the space beside therail through which the wheel flange passes is filled with a resilientmaterial, so that vehicles passing transversely over the rails arerelieved of shock. The resilient material is a series of blocks each ofwhich are preferably provided with channels extending transversely ofthe rails, and structure is provided for holding these blocks in place.

This invention relates to a new and improved rail crossing. Theinvention relates particularly to a rail crossing adapted to allowvehicles with small diameter wheels to cross railway tracks at rightangles without shock or damage to the small wheeled vehicle. Theinvention involves an elastic structure placed between the railway bedand the rail so as to support, to some extent, the weight borne by thewheels of the vehicle crossing the railway track while still permittingthe passage of the flanged wheel of a relatively heavy railway car.

In some respects this invention is an improvement on the railwaycrossing set forth in my Patent No. 2,950,057 dated Aug. 25, 1960.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved crossing which willpermit vehicles having wheels of small diameter, particularly suchwheels which are solid, to

pass transversely over railway crossings without any substantial shock.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved crossing whichwill permit the elastic structure to flex and be depressed when aflanged wheel passes longitudinally of the rail and which at the sametime will avoid any permanent deformation of the structure, so that whenthe flanged wheel has passed the elastic structure will without failresume its former shape and position. Yet another object is to providesuch a crossing which will drain easily and avoid being clogged withdirt and foreign materials.

Further and additional objects of this invention will become apparent asthis specification proceeds.

In the drawings,

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a section of my improved crossingstructure showing certain parts in expanded relationship for purposes ofillustration;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view showing the improved crossing installed inconnection with a paved roadbed; and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing a means for securing theresilient blocks within the channel carrier.

As illustrated, a rail 10 of the type in common use, is supported on theties 11, one of which is shown in FIG- URES l and 2 of the drawing.Beside and spaced from the rail is the roadbed formed of paving material12. I prefer that a furring strip 13 be placed on the tie prior to thelaying of the paving. The thickness of this furring strip will determinethe height at which the tiller is to be mounted.

The metal strip or plate 14 which abutts the paving material. This platehas its top edge approximately even with the top of the rail and itsbottom edge rests on the furring strip 13. Anchors 28 may be secured toplate 14 and extend into the paving material 12, to secure this plate inplace.

A bottom plate 15 suitably made of steel, has its one edge secured tothe bottom edge of plate 14 as by welding, and the other edge of thisbottom plate extends laterally to the mid section of the rail, and mayhave its other edge welded to the rail. Bottom plate 15 serves toproperly space the side plate 14 from the rail and serves also assupport on which the frame of the resilient material may rest.

The side plate 14 and the bottom plate 15 provide respectively side andbottom walls which form with the side of the rail an elongated narrowpassage into which the flange of the railway car wheel passes.

To prepare the resilient material to be used in the improved crossing Imay first prepare an elongated strip as by extruding the elasticmaterial through a die. The die may be such as to provide a channelwhich extends longitudinally of the strip, which is parallel with thesides of the strip and which opens at substantially the center of oneside of the strip. This channel may extend in depth to about the centerof the strip or even somewhat beyond the center of the strip.

The resilient strip may be formed of any suitable resilient materialsuch as rubber or rubber-like material. I prefer to employ a syntheticrubber which is oil-resistant and corrosion-resistant. I may usepolychloroprene rubber, fluorocarbon or silicone rubbers orpolyethylene, polybutdadiene, polyisoprene or GR-S rubbers.

Resiliency is usually determined in terms of durometer value. Theresiliency of the strip according to the present invention preferablyhas a durometer value between 45 and 60, for example, from 55 to 60.

The strip is prepared, for example, by extrusion, is cut transversely toform blocks 16. As shown particularly in FIGURE 1 of the drawings, theseblocks may be substantially cubical and each has the channel 17. Theseblocks may be placed side by side in aligned fashion as illustrated inFIGURE 1, with their channels parallel and sub stantially perpendicularwith the rail. The blocks may be cut into any desired lengths and shouldbe of a length such that when mounted between the rail and the sideplate 14 will almost but not quite fill the space.

For mounting the blocks in place I may use a frame or channel piece 18,which has a bottom 19, a relatively short front flange 20 and a longerback flange 21.

These blocks are placed in channel 18 according to the arrangementpreviously described and as illustrated in FIGURE 1. Then a pin 22 isextended through a hole 23 in the rear flange, through the bottom of thechannel 17 in one of the blocks, and through a hole 24 in the frontflange 20. This pin is then tack Welded to the flanges to secure theblocks in place. Other pins are placed in other of the blocks and inthis way all of the blocks are secured in place. This manner of securingthe blocks within the channel is illustrated particularly in FIGURE 3.

When the blocks have been secured in the frame of channel 18, then thisframe with the blocks therein may be placed within the elongated spacebetween the rail and the side plate 14, and when so placed the top ofthe rear flange 21 of the frame should come to be even with the top ofthe side plate 14. The top of the rear flange may be welded to the topof the side wall. When so mounted the top surfaces of the blocks shouldbe even with each other and at least as high as the top of the rail,preferably at least 4 inch above the top of the rail, or still betterabout /8 inch above the top of the rail. Also the side of the blockswhich are adjacent the rail should be spaced from the rail, suitablyabout inch. The bottom of the channels 17 in the blocks should be downbelow the head 25 of the rail, so that the bottom portion of the channelopens laterally into the space just below the head of the rail.

In the operation of the device, the flanged Wheels of a locomotive orrailway car, upon passing along the rail, will strike the blocks'lfi andwill depress and deform these blocks, causing the resilient material ofthe blocks to be pushed into the channels 17. The locomotive or railwaycar is, of course, relatively heavy, and though the upstanding legs 26of the blocks are somewhat stiff, this deformation to permit theentrance of the flange of the wheel is accomplished with ease. Further,it may be seen that as the blocks are so deformed there may be movementbetween the side surfaces of the blocks, yet when the flange of therailway car has passed the blocks may. slide with respect to each otherto the original position with the sides of one block serving to supportthe sides of the next adjacent block.

When a vehicle is passed transversely across the rails, the wheels ofthe vehicle pass, for example, across the top of the rail head, thenstrike and depress slightly the legs 26 of the resilient blocks 16. Thewheel is supported to a very substantial extent by the blocks, and thenpasses smoothly over to the top of the paving, without shock.

Although the blocks are open at the top by reason of the channels 17 andmay receive water into these channels, the water or other liquid mayeasily drain along the bottom of the channel and be discharged into thespace under the head of the rail from whence it may pass along the railon the bottom wall 15 and pass away from the crossing.

While this invention has been described in terms of a preferredembodiment, those skilled in the art will appreciate that many changescan be made without departing from the spirit or the scope of theinvention.

I claim:

1. An improved rail crossing comprising, in combination, a railproviding a guide for a flanged wheel, a side wall disposed parallel toand spaced from said rail, said side wall and said rail forming the twosides of an elongated narrow space through which the wheel flangepasses, a series of resilient blocks disposed in side by siderelationship and substantially filling said space, each of said blockshaving a channel therein which opens at the top of the block and extendstransversely of the rail to the side of the block adjacent the rail, andmeans for supporting said blocks at a height such that'their topsurfaces extend at least as high as the top surface of said rail.

2. An improved rail crossing as set forth in claim 1 wherein the bottomof said channel of said blocks at the sides of the blocks adjacent therail is below the head of said rail.

3. An improved rail crossing as set forth in claim 1 wherein said meansis effective for supporting said blocks at a height such that their topsurfaces extend at least 1 inch above the top surface of said rail.

4. An improved rail crossing as set forth in claim 1 in which said meansincludes a channel piece which engages the sides and bottom of saidblocks, and a cross member extending along the bottom of said channelsand secured at its ends to the sides of said channel piece.

5. An improved rail crossing as set forth in'claim 1 including a tiewhich supports said rail, and wherein said supporting means includes asupporting strip resting on said tie, a bottom wall secured to said sidewall and resting on said supporting strip, and a channel piece whichengages the sides of said blocks and rests on said bottom wall. a i

6. An improved rail crossing comprising, in combination, a railproviding a guide for a flanged wheel, a side wall disposed parallel toand spaced from said rail, said side wall and said rail forming thesides of an elongated narrow space through which the wheel flangepasses, a series of resilient blocks disposed in side by siderelationship and substantially filling said space, said blocks havingthe same width as length, and means for supporting said blocks at aheight such that their top surfaces extend at least as high as the topsurface of said rail.

7. An improved rail crossing as set forth in claim 6 wherein said meansis effective for supporting said blocks at a height such that their topsurfaces extend above the top surface of said rail. V

8. An improved rail crossing as set forth in claim 6 in which said meansincludes a bottom wall secured to said side wall and a channel piecewhich engages the sides and bottom of said blocks, said piece beingsecured to one of said walls. 7

9. An improved rail crossing as set forth in claim 8 wherein the top ofa wall of said channel piece is welded to the top of said side wall.

10. A method of preparing a railway crossing comprising extruding astrip of elastic material of Ushaped cross section with a longitudinalchannel in one face thereof, cutting said strip transversely to formblocks of resilient material, assembling said blocks in side by siderelationship in a frame so that the channel in each of the blocksextends transversely of the frame, and mounting said frame with saidblocks thereon beside the rail of a railway crossing in a position suchthat the tops of said blocks extend at least as high as the top of saidrail and have their channels extending transversely of the rail.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 619,069 2/1899 Buckland 23891,054,852 3/1913 Leeo 238-9 2,950,057 10/1960 Speer 2388 ARTHUR L. LAPOINT, Primary Examiner.

R. A. BERTSCH, Assistant Examiner.

